From January to October 2021, Russian airlines increased passenger traffic by 59% compared to the same period in 2020 - up to 94.4 million people.

This is evidenced by the data of the Federal Air Transport Agency published on Friday, November 12.

As noted by the press service of the Federal Air Transport Agency, in October the market practically returned to the pre-pandemic level.

Thus, in a month, national carriers served 10.9 million passengers.

For comparison: in October 2019, domestic companies transported 11.1 million people, and in October 2020, only 6.8 million.

The Federal Air Transport Agency recalled that a year ago, flights around the country were significantly limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, now the volume of domestic air traffic is confidently recovering against the background of the abolition of many quarantine measures and the revival of tourism.

This was told to RT by Dmitry Gorin, vice president of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).

“The demand for travel in Russia was significantly supported by the tourist cashback program.

The initiative had a positive effect on all market participants - hotels, travel companies and, most importantly, tourists, ”Gorin said.

Recall that the authorities launched the tourist cashback program back in 2020.

Now, as part of the initiative, citizens traveling around the country can return up to 20% of the cost of the tour, but not more than 20 thousand rubles.

To receive compensation, the voucher had to be paid with a MIR card, and the duration of the trip had to be at least two nights.

According to the Federal Tourism Agency, since the beginning of 2021, more than 1.6 million people have used the program.

The participants in the initiative purchased vouchers worth 34 billion rubles, of which about 6.7 billion rubles were returned to them.

The next stage of the tourist cashback program started on June 16 and ended on September 10.

During this period, Russians could buy discounted tours for travel in the autumn period - from October 1 to December 24.

“We hope that the program will be extended until 2022 and will become a systematic measure to support the tourism industry.

In addition, it is now very important that the authorities take additional measures to stimulate tourism and help companies.

We are talking, for example, about an increased cashback for the Far East, as well as tax breaks for companies and subsidies in the off-season, ”added Dmitry Gorin.

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Note that in mid-October, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to consider doubling the maximum size of tourist cashback for the Far East - up to 40 thousand rubles.

In addition, the head of state asked the Cabinet to study the possibility of reducing the value added tax rate for organizations in the tourism sector.

At the same time, the country's leadership continues to support the aviation industry.

As the President said earlier, in 2021, to stimulate regional air transportation, the authorities will send $ 255 million. In total, 417 domestic routes will be subsidized, and the infrastructure of more than 60 airports in the country will be modernized.

“A special role in Russia is traditionally assigned to aviation, which often serves as the only link that can guarantee transport accessibility of remote regions.

Therefore, we are doing a lot to support regional and local air transportation, ”Putin said during his speech at the second UN Global Conference on Sustainable Transport on October 14.

Air routes

From January to October 2021, Moscow became the most popular destination among the passengers of Russian airlines.

The capital accounted for almost 32% of the total number of air ticket bookings.

Such data was provided by RT in the travel planning service OneTwoTrip.

According to the company's estimates, St. Petersburg (10.8%) and Sochi (5.7%) are also among the leaders in terms of the number of bookings.

In addition, Russians actively traveled to Krasnodar (3.2%), Simferopol (2.7%), Mineralnye Vody (2.6%), Makhachkala (2.4%), Yekaterinburg (2.3%), Kazan ( 2.2%) and Ufa (2.1%).

“The expansion of the flight program in Russia has also affected demand, as many new directions have appeared.

Separately, it should be said that the price factor also influenced the restoration of the aviation market, since the cost of flights was relatively low, ”said ATOR Vice President Dmitry Gorin.

According to OneTwoTrip, prices for air tickets in Russia are currently at the same level as last year.

In 2021, the average cost of a one-way flight in the country per person is 5.3 thousand rubles.

At the end of October, the demand for air travel in Russia increased further ahead of the November holiday period.

At this time, Russians began to look for air tickets 40% more often.

People were most actively interested in resort destinations.

“In the week of October 19, the largest surge in search queries for a non-working week was noted in Gelendzhik - by 77% compared to the daily average of the previous week.

They were interested in air tickets to Anapa 50% more often, to Mineralnye Vody - by 47%, and in Sochi and Simferopol - by 43%, "Elena Shelekhova, head of the press service for travel planning services OneTwoTrip, told RT.